Methven improves people and performance management with Cezanne HR

Leading shower and tapware supplier Methven is using Cezanne HR software to streamline management of its people processes and give performance management a higher profile in the business.

Methven, a long-established New Zealand company, has been operating in the UK for five years following the acquisition of Lancashire-based brassware manufacturer, Deva. The business employs 60 people in the UK and has fast-established itself as a major player in its sector, supplying its leading-edge products to both trade and consumer markets.

Methven places huge emphasis on the development of its people and has recently achieved Bronze IIP accreditation. It is a strategy that is driven right from the top of the business and ingrained in the culture.

Methven recognised that as the UK operation continued to grow, it needed to streamline its HR administration. It had previously been using a system that relied on the HR team to input and manage all the data – an activity which was taking up valuable time which could be used more productively on strategic HR issues.

The company started to look around for an HR software system that would allow it to reduce administration and at the same time improve the consistency and effectiveness of performance management processes. Cezanne HR appealed because of its cost-effectiveness, ease of use and self service functionality.

“We particularly liked the self service element because it fits in with our goal to develop people and empower them to be self starters. We want to enable people to be as self-managed as possible,” explained Training and Development Manager Belinda Kropach.

The performance management module was also a real draw for Methven. Managers throughout the business were not always consistent in their approach to performance management and the process had become somewhat ad hoc. “The performance management software will make the whole process more transparent, more trackable and will ensure it is being implemented consistently throughout the group,” said Belinda.

“We particularly liked the self service element because it fits in with our goal to develop people and empower them to be self starters. We want to enable people to be as self-managed as possible,” explained Training and Development Manager Belinda Kropach.

There are plans further down the line to roll the HR software system out to the wider group, starting with Australia and New Zealand. “We are pioneering the use of an HR software system in the UK and hope it is something we can bring to other parts of the business in the near future,” says Belinda. “The support and customer service we have received from Cezanne has been very good. They have taken on board all our feedback and we feel they are a company that really supports growth.”